Ang Trapeang Thma Protected Landscape ( ) is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

in northwestern

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

that was first established in 1999 and converted to a protected landscape in 2016. The reserve was set aside to protect the rare eastern sarus crane (''Grus antigone sharpii''). Prior to the discovery of the crane at Trapeang Thma, there were thought to be fewer than 1,000 of the birds left alive in the world.

Location and access

The crane sanctuary is located in north western Cambodia, not far from the border with

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. The entire 10,000 hectares of the protected area is contained within

Phnom Srok District Phnom Srok (, ) is a district (''srok'') in the east of Banteay Meanchey province, in north-western Cambodia. The district capital is Phnom Srok town located around 52 kilometres north east of the provincial capital of Sisophon by road. Phnom S ...

Banteay Meanchey Province Banteay Meanchey (, , ) is a Provinces of Cambodia, province of Cambodia located in the far northwest. It borders the provinces of Oddar Meanchey province, Oddar Meanchey to the north, Siem Reap province, Siem Reap to the east, Battambang provi ...

. Phnom Srok district shares a border with Siem Reap and Oddar Meanchey Provinces. Reading from the north clockwise, Phnom Srok borders with Banteay Ampil and Chong Kal districts of

Oddar Meanchey Oddar Meanchey (, UNGEGN: ''Ŏttâr Méanchoăy'', ALA-LC: ''Uttar Mānjăy'' ; ) is a province of Cambodia in the remote northwest. It borders the provinces of Banteay Meanchey to the west, Siem Reap to the south and Preah Vihear to the east. I ...

province to the north. The eastern border of the district is shared with

Srei Snam Srei Snam District is a district of Siem Reap Province, in north western Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thaila ...

and Kralanh districts of Siem Reap province. To the south the district shares a border with Preah Net Preah District of Banteay Meanchey. The western border of the district joins with Svay Chek and Thma Puok districts also of Banteay Meanchey. The sanctuary can be accessed by road from Sisophon (70 km) or Siem Reap (city) (90 km) via National Highway 6 initially then via smaller unsealed district roads to Ang Trapeang Thma.

History

The site of Ang Trapeang Thma reservoir is also the site of an ancient Angkorian causeway. Grus antigone Luc viatour

Sarus crane

The sarus crane, ''Grus antigone'' is an all-year resident breeding

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in northern

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(especially Central India and the Gangetic plains),

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is a very large crane, averaging 156 cm (5 ft) in length, which is found in freshwater

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

es and

plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...

Other fauna

Ang Trapeang Thma sanctuary is also an important conservation area for a number of other globally threatened species. The

long tailed macaque The crab-eating macaque (''Macaca fascicularis''), also known as the long-tailed macaque or cynomolgus macaque, is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. As a synanthropic species, the crab-eating macaque thrives near human settleme ...

(''Macaca fascicularis''),

Eld's deer Eld's deer (''Rucervus eldii'' or ''Panolia eldii''Pitraa, Fickela, Meijaard, Groves (2004). ''Evolution and phylogeny of old world deer.'' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 33: 880–895.), also known as the thamin or brow-antlered deer, i ...

(''Rucervus eldii''),

Asian box turtle Asian box turtles are turtles of the genus ''Cuora'' in the family Geoemydidae. About 12 extant species are recognized.Spinks, P. Q., et al. (2012)Species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships in the critically endangered Asian box turtle gen ...

(''Cuora amboinensis''),

Malayan snail-eating turtle The Malayan snail-eating turtle (''Malayemys macrocephala'') is a species of turtle in Malayemys genus of the family Geoemydidae. Distribution The Malayan snail-eating turtle is found in the Cambodia, Myanmar, west Malaysia and Thailand (coasta ...

(''Malayemys macrocephala''), and the

elongated tortoise The elongated tortoise (''Indotestudo elongata'') is a species of tortoise found in Southeast Asia and parts of South Asia. Description Shell considerably depressed, more than twice as long as deep, with flat vertebral region; anterior and post ...

(''Indotestudo elongata'') can be found within Ang Trapeang Thma.

References

{{National parks of Cambodia Geography of Banteay Meanchey province Bird sanctuaries Protected areas established in 1999 Nature reserves in Cambodia 1999 establishments in Cambodia